The Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis reacted to news that Donald Trump is now the target of a Justice Department investigation into the January 6th riot at the Capitol by suggesting that the former president should have done more to stop it.
Trump revealed Tuesday that he had been alerted by the DOJ to a grand jury investigation “which almost always means an arrest and indictment.”
It’s futile to try and figure out what possible criminal charges could come from Trump’s actions on that day, but it seems clear Special Counsel Jack Smith is trying to lay the legal groundwork for an eventual 14th Amendment claim to bar him from ever holding public office.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is a rarely cited Civil War-era provision that bars individuals from holding office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
In other words, mostly high-ranking Confederates.
Trump was impeached in January 2021 on the charge of “incitement of insurrection,” but was ultimately acquitted by the Senate. A conviction by Smith could, in Democrat minds, put the amendment back in play.
?BREAKING: TRUMP WARNS OF IMMINENT ARREST AND INDICTMENT
Donald Trump released a statement about a target letter received from Special Council Jack Smith in the January 6 Investigation, telling him he has four days to report to the Grand Jury.
Trump added this “almost always… pic.twitter.com/CPIeGneRj1
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 18, 2023
DeSantis: Trump Should Have Been More Forceful On January 6
Florida Governor DeSantis opted to respond to news that Trump is the target of a January 6 investigation by trying to have it both ways, and his initial comment is what will surely perk up the ears of some Republican voters and supporters of the former President.
“I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while things were going on,” DeSantis said at a press conference in South Carolina Tuesday. “He should have come out more forcefully.”
DeSantis goes after Trump over January 6th:
“I think it was shown how he was in the White House & didn’t do anything while things were going on. He should have come out more forcefully.” pic.twitter.com/SErzEn8ib0
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 18, 2023
One’s eyes involuntarily glaze over and roll back in their head upon hearing something like that.
It’s understood that we’ll have to rehash reality when it comes to Democrats, Republican eunuchs, and the media, but why do we have to go over it again with a guy like DeSantis?
At the rally prior to the January 6th riot at the Capitol, Trump stated: “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
A timeline of events published by NPR shows protestors began getting riled up at 1:00 PM while a breach of the actual barricades and the Capitol took place sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 PM.
At 3:13 he tweeted the following:
I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Roughly an hour later he released a video urging people to go home.
RELATED: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Obliterated When Donald Trump Literally Pulled Receipts Out of His Pocket
Skeptical That Trump’s Actions Were Criminal
Trump’s campaign seized on the comments from DeSantis suggesting he hadn’t been forceful enough on January 6.
Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung tweeted, “A disqualifying take from an unserious candidate in the last throes of his failed candidacy.”
DeSantis’ campaign fought back, suggesting that his comments were taken out of context.
Trump Spokesman doesn’t think they can beat DeSantis without lying.
The truth / full clip: https://t.co/MHyRm04xSl https://t.co/01RCXyKP5R
— Christina Pushaw ? ?? (@ChristinaPushaw) July 18, 2023
It’s true that there was much more to what DeSantis said, as that’s what we were referring to when we said he was trying to have it both ways.
DeSantis pointed out that the DOJ investigation of Trump’s actions on January 6 seems to be a continuation of the Biden administration’s pursuit of their political opponents.
“But to try to criminalize that, that’s a different issue entirely,” he told reporters. “We want to be in a situation where you don’t have one side just constantly trying to put the other side in jail, and that unfortunately is what we’re seeing now.”
Maybe lead with that next time? Or better yet, how about making that the singular focus of your response to anything involving an investigation of January 6?
Because jailing political challengers in America is far more concerning than giving a speech before a protest that got out of hand, Ron. It’s an actual insurrection playing out before our eyes.
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